Cash raised from Aberdeen’s bus lane fines has been earmarked for use in refurbishing paths and cycle-ways in and around Hazlehead Park.
A total of £150,000 has been budgeted to renew the paths and other key areas of the park, such as the pets corner and memorial rose gardens.
The cash, which comes from the £2.48million raised in the first year of bus lane enforcement in the city, will also be put towards helping drainage issues in some of the boggier areas of the park.
Hazlehead ward councillor Ross Thomson welcomed the news and said that it was a long time coming.
He said: “It’s good that the money raised from the bus lane enforcement is going back into our infrastructure and roads, and with the cash we’ll be able to really improve connectivity in the park.
“The need to fix up some of the rougher areas of Hazlehead Park underfoot has been an issue for a long time. I’m sure a number of groups like local running clubs and cycling clubs will be delighted.
“The paths being looked at actually extend to quite a large area passed the core park with the cafe and the gardens, and stretch out towards areas like Denwood and Countesswells.
“Not only will this help regular visitors to the park, but it will hopefully raise its profile by being more accessible to more people, for instance we had a five kilometre run earlier this year and those runners would love better paths.
“It’s also part of a bigger package for breathing new life into Hazlehead park, as there’s already plans to improve the pet’s corner and rose gardens to really make Hazlehead Park the jewel in Aberdeen’s crown.”
Ward councillor Jennifer Stewart said: “I’ve had a lot of residents contact me saying the paths at the park are constantly waterlogged, boggy and mulchy, so I think it’s time that the council spend a significant amount of money to fix the issue.
“The improvements are well overdue and the council has so far failed in their duty to invest money into proper drainage at Hazlehead.”
The news comes after plans were proposed earlier this week for a £50million hotel and country club at the nearby Hayfield riding centre.
